


Latte Love

by LiteraryRose



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Barista Jughead, Betty LOVES her salted caramel lattes bc I said so, Bughead never met or dated in highschool, Business woman Betty, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Future AU, Handsome Juggie, I mention barchie once for like four seconds don't hate me lol, Yes ik the coffee shop name is cringe don't come at me, coffee shop AU, go follow me on Tumblr, we do love cute Juggie, wrote this from a Tumblr prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26716744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteraryRose/pseuds/LiteraryRose
Summary: When Betty reached the front of the line, she came face to face with a man she’d never seen before. She was a regular at the coffee shop, and the fact that her favourite barista, Ethel would not be serving her today took her off guard a little.“Where’s Ethel today?” Betty asked, hoping she didn't sound annoyed. Ethel was the only barista at this place that could get her coffee exactly how she liked it, and the fact that She wouldn't be getting her usually perfect blend today irritated Betty.“She was in a car accident. Broke one of her legs.” The man behind the counter replied.“Do you know when she’ll be back?” Betty questioned the man.“As long as it takes for her to get back on her feet. I’d guess six weeks or so.” The man ran his fingers through the mop of wavy black hair atop his head. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. What can I get you?”Betty’s face softened. “I’ll get a caramel latte with extra caramel and a pinch of salt please.”
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper (mentioned briefly), Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53





	Latte Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is just a little something I wrote last night based off of a prompt I saw on Tumblr (I don't remember the acc sorry).
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Oh, and also follow my Tumblr. My username is theliteraryrose
> 
> comments are appreciated.

The familiar sound of the bell above the door reached Betty’s ears as she entered Cup O’ Love, a quaint coffee shop tucked away just outside of downtown Manhattan.  
She joined the end of the line at the cash and observed the people in line in front of her to pass time.

There’s a woman ordering a mocha latte and brownie as a man (probably her boyfriend) stares at her adoringly. A pang of sadness vibrates through Betty’s chest. Ever since she ended things with Archie a year ago, she hadn’t been able to look at another couple without feeling a little jealous. Archie had been great, but after his music career took off during her final year of College, he hadn’t had much time for her and they’d inevitably fallen out of love with each other. 

When Betty reached the front of the line, she came face to face with a man she’d never seen before. She was a regular at the coffee shop, and the fact that her favourite barista, Ethel would not be serving her today took her off guard a little.

“Where’s Ethel today?” Betty asked, hoping she didn't sound annoyed. Ethel was the only barista at this place that could get her coffee exactly how she liked it, and the fact that She wouldn't be getting her usually perfect blend today irritated Betty.

“She was in a car accident. Broke one of her legs.” The man behind the counter replied. 

“Do you know when she’ll be back?” Betty questioned the man.

“As long as it takes for her to get back on her feet. I’d guess six weeks or so.” The man ran his fingers through the mop of wavy black hair atop his head. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. What can I get you?”

Betty’s face softened. “I’ll get a caramel latte with extra caramel and a pinch of salt please.” 

“Salt?” The man looked at her in surprise. 

“Yes. Salt. Have you ever heard of salted caramel before?”

He looked at her skeptically. “And who is this for?” 

“Betty.” She replied before watching him turn to make her drink.

Betty turned on her phone to check the time and noted that she had half an hour to get her coffee before she had to be at work. She put her phone back in her purse and pulled out her wallet.

A few seconds later the barista turned back to her. “Here you go. One caramel latte with extra caramel and a pinch of salt.” 

Betty paid the man and stepped aside to take a sip of her drink. It was good. Surprisingly good. Her eyes flitted back to the man, taking him in. He was maybe six feet tall with sharp bone structure, light olive skin and a smattering of freckles across his face. Betty couldn’t see his eyes but assumed they were probably just as gorgeous as the rest of him. He was attractive. Very attractive. Like the kind of hot you’d see on the cover of a men’s fashion magazine, not serving you coffee in a local shop. She swallowed another sip of her coffee and smiled at the perfect flavour combination. She hoped he’d be working here tomorrow when she came in for her daily coffee. 

The next morning when Betty entered Cup O’ Love, she immediately spotted the barista from the previous day and joined the queue. 

“What can I get you?” He asked when it was her turn to be served. 

“One caramel latte with extra caramel and a pinch of salt please.”

The man looked up at her “Same as yesterday?”

“You remember?” Betty asked him incredulously. 

“Kinda hard not to with an order like that, Betty.” He smiled, his ocean blue eyes meeting her emerald green ones.

“You did a good job with my drink yesterday.” Betty said to him. “It tasted almost as good as when Ethel makes it.”

“I’m glad my barista-ing skills are nearly up to your standards.” He replied sarcastically, turning to make her drink. When he turned around again, she noticed the name tag on his shirt.

“Your name is Jughead?” She asked.

“Uh… yeah. Long story.” Jughead replied, handing Betty her drink. “Have a nice day, Betty.”

“You too, Jughead.” Betty returned happily as she watched him turn to the next customer. 

She made her way toward the exit, sipping her coffee as she maneuvered through the maze of tables and chairs, pausing when she noticed something weird. A number. Written on the side of her coffee cup under the space for her name, was the number two. Was it because this was the second time Jughead had made her drink for her? Because she told him he was the second best at making her drink? Betty typed the single digit into the notes app on her phone for later contemplation.

The next morning when Betty received her coffee from Jughead, she was running late to work, and had an impending FaceTime with her mother that evening to prepare for. She was stressed, and anxious to get her coffee to help her process her thoughts. So stressed in fact, that she almost missed the second number on her coffee cup in the same position as the one from the day before. This time, however, the number was a one. Betty added the number to the notes in her phone and rushed to work, pushing the mysterious digit from the forefront of her mind.

The third day of the week, Betty entered the coffee shop to find it more crowded with customers than usual. When it came her turn to order, Betty requested her usual latte, and watched diligently as Jughead poured the ingredients together in the cup.   
While she waited for him to finish, she took in his lightly mussed hair and firm looking back.

“Have a nice day, Betty.”

Betty was pulled out of her thoughts by Jughead’s warm voice as he handed her the cup of coffee.

“You too, Jughead.”

Betty moved from her position in front of the cash to allow the next person to order as she took a sip of her perfectly brewed coffee. 

Once Betty finished the bitter beverage, she turned to throw the disposable cup in the trash. But before she tossed the cup into the garbage, she noticed yet another number on the side of it, this time a two. Betty pulled out her phone and added the number to her list. 

For the following seven work days, Betty received a different number on the side of her daily coffee cup. On Friday it’d been a seven, then a four on Monday, followed by a six on Tuesday, a three on Wednesday, an eight on Thursday, a five on Friday, and finally a nine the following Monday. On Tuesday, however, there was no number written on the disposal cup.

On Wednesday morning, Betty joined the queue for coffee as usual, spotting Jughead behind the register. 

“The usual?” Jughead asked, already reaching for one of the usual cups.

“Yes please.” Betty answered.

Jughead quickly made the drink and slid it over the counter toward Betty, who noted the lack of a single digit for the second day in a row.

“What were the numbers on the side of the cups for the last few weeks?” Betty questioned him.

A light blush appeared over Jughead’s cheekbones. “I… uh…”

Betty glanced at her phone screen, noting that she only had a few minutes until she had to be at work. “Will you still be here at 12?”

“Yeah, I have my break then. Why?” Jughead looked confused.

“You can tell me then.” Betty stated before tossing a five on the counter and rushing out of the quaint shop. 

Betty arrived at the coffee shop a few minutes before 12 and selected a seat for herself in the back corner where she was sure Jughead would see her. Sure enough, it was only a matter of moments before Jughead joined her at the table.

“Hey.” 

Betty looked up from her Instagram feed when she noticed Jughead standing in front of her. 

“Hi.” 

Jughead motioned to the seat across from her “May I sit?”

Betty nodded lightly at him.

Once Jughead had sat down, an awkward silence hung over the table, and Betty was eager to break it. “So about the numbers on my coffees?”

“Um… Yeah.” Jughead’s face flushed. “I’m assuming you didn’t keep a record of the numbers I wrote?”

“I did, actually.” Betty said, pulling out her phone to show him.”

Jughead carded his fingers through the thick mop of waves sitting atop his head before turning his eyes back to the woman in front of him. “How many numbers did you get?”

“Nine.” Betty replied.

“Good.” Jughead looked relieved at her answer. “You got all of them.”

Betty nodded, still not understanding.

“What has nine numbers in it?”

Betty racked her brain for an answer. “I don’t know… a phone number?”

Jughead smiled lightly. “Bingo.”

Betty was still confused. 

“I wrote my number on your coffees for two weeks. I didn’t really expect you to figure it out.” Jughead said nervously. “I… uh… I wanted to ask you out and didn’t really know how.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… you’re beautiful and I’m just a guy who works at a coffee shop… so…”

Betty smiled. “You think I’m beautiful?”

Jughead nodded slowly. “I’m sorry if I seem like a total creep right now.”

“You don’t.”

Jughead grinned. “Do you maybe want to go out sometime then? If I haven’t already scared you off and you’re single?”

Betty smirked. “Like a date?”

“Hopefully?” Jughead asked.

“Definitely. I’ll text you.” 

“Actually? You’ll go out with me?” He looked incredulous.

“Yes.” Betty answered.

Jughead smiled before he noticed the time. “My break’s over, sorry. See you tomorrow?”

Betty nodded. “I’ll text you tonight so we can make plans.” She stood up. “Have a great rest of your day.”

“You too, Betty!” Jughead called back to her, already on his way up to the counter.

Betty left Cup O’ Love a few minutes later feeling more elated than she had in months.


End file.
